We had an exceptional visit today with Cop Car and her Hunky Husband, Bogie’s parents, and WichiDude’s in-laws.
Cop Car called on Friday when they made it into the Chicago area, and we agreed that we would meet at one of our favorite restaurants for brunch. I gave them directions, and we discussed how much time they were likely to need, and we rang off. What we didn’t think to do was to describe ourselves so that we would be able to recognize each other in a busy waiting area!
It didn’t matter. I called HH’s phone to see if I could catch them, and as I was turning around, here was Cop Car, ready to give me a hug, should I be the right person. We had a lovely meal, chatting and getting to know each other. I was told that I was unkind to walk her past two tables of dessert on the way back to our table. *G* After the meal, Cop Car rode home with us, and HH took our map, so he could join us later.
Not only did she bring me two red bud trees, but she graciously allowed me to show her just about every quilt in the house! That takes patience, and we swapped stories as I put out quilt after quilt. She’s seen the almost-completed top that I talked about at the end of January. I’m working on the borders now, so it should be ready to be quilted soon.
Cop Car brought us gifts, among them a jar of Bogie’s salsa. I was teasing about that at Bogie’s blog, but we’re glad to have it. We bird watched, and she tried to hear our chickadee’s song, so that she could tell us what kind it was, but the birds were quiet just then.
We chatted away the afternoon, and then went to dinner at an Italian place. I have to be reminded now and then to let others have a chance to talk, so it was a good thing that dinner tasted great. Thanks for dinner, Cop Car and HH! We called it a night just about the time I started complaining about the political debates. They needed to find their way back to the motel for an early start in the morning.
Guys, I had a lovely time. You helped me stretch my birthday celebration over several days, and I really enjoyed your visit. We’ll have to make a serious effort to head out your way so we can visit again.

It’s an absolutely spectacular day! One of those perfect Fall days where the sky is a clear blue, and it’s cool, but not cold. The sun warms you when you walk or work and everything feels RIGHT!
I dragged my mother to the Farmers Market this morning. I wanted to pick up gourds and pumpkins and corn to use as decorations, and we needed to drop a gift off. The man who sharpens knives refuses to let my mother pay for his services. He flirts with her as he pumps the treadle for his wheel, and she loves the attention. And this year, he sharpened my pruners and knives and wouldn’t let ME pay him. So, I chose two bottles of my favorite wine, and wrapped them up, and added two jars of Mother’s home made chili sauce. This will be the last time she sees him this year. He wanted the chance to wish her well for the winter, so I’m glad we went.
I stopped at McDonald’s and got Mother settled with a cup of coffee while I went next door to have the car washed. Then, we went to a local nursery to pick up a bale of straw and play with their nine week old Australian cattle dog. What a sweet pup!
I plan to use the rest of the day to get some outside chores done. I want to repot a couple of things, and get a few last minute plants into the ground. It’s a good day for it.
So, I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend, too! Catch ya later!

The time has come for the Arr!! to be hauled out for the season. Dear Husband is going to spend the night on the boat so that he can get an early start on Saturday morning. He wants to be at the front of the line at the crane, where they un-step the mast. Then, he can motor down the Chicago River to the boat yard, where the boat will be craned out onto the trailer.
Normally, boating season goes to October 15th, but we asked Dear Husband to join us on a visit to my sister and her family in Indiana next weekend. The boat yard announced the day the crane would be set to take down masts, so he didn’t have a lot of choice about when the boat would come home. If he misses the crane on Saturday, he’ll have to join a flotilla of sailboats going down river, which is a lot more work.
Flotillas gather so that they can all go through the bridges at the same time. The City of Chicago used to open a bridge for any sailboat that wanted to pass, but a number of years ago, Mayor Daley changed that practice. Now, the river fills up with sailboats waiting for the bridges to open. It can be dangerous when the river is clogged with small boats. They are obligated to yield the right of way to commercial vessels and government vessels. You have to give way to tour boats, tugs, and fire-fighting boats. So, if DH has the option to motor down the river ahead of the pack, that’s his preference.
Saturday afternoon, he’ll make it back to our corner of the world, and he will very carefully back the Arr!! up our driveway, and settle her in the north 40. He’ll have to back up close to 300 feet, with a gentle bend about half way. Right at that spot, there are trees on either side of the drive. It’s quite a process, getting it settled for the winter.
Over the next month he’ll unload the perishables, and anything that won’t winter over well on the boat. The bilges will have been emptied, and he’ll pour a couple of gallons of cheap vodka in to winterize them. Maybe by Thanksgiving, I’ll see him again. Home is the sailor, home from the sea.
Welcome home, Arr!!

Isn’t there a song in “My Fair Lady” that starts out that way? …where Eliza’s father is getting married and he’s celebrating before he has to go to the church?
Well, in a few more hours it will be my birthday. I expect this one to pass quietly; this is not a milestone birthday. I generally don’t care to go clothing shopping, but I may take some time to pick up some new clothes for this fall.
Dear Husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and beyond a few new quilting books, I didn’t have any suggestions.
It’s supposed to be rainy off and on tomorrow. The storm is on its way in now. I don’t mind the rain, but I wish I had made better use of the good weather to get some yard work done. If the rain keeps everyone out of the stores while I shop, so much the better!
Soooooo….I’ll just be off quietly celebrating over here…..

I’ve been casting about, wondering what I wanted to write about. There’s a lot on my mind, but most of it is trivial nest making, and it isn’t the thing to inspire great posts.
I have to tip my hat to billy who can make a blog entry out of not having the time to blog. I teased him about his absence in the blog world lately, and I got a lovely letter, and then found he had blogged about visiting my blog. *G* I can use all the help I can get in terms of links, but he was linking to a blog that has been too darned quiet lately.
So…first, I want to say to billy…..I totally understand, hon. We all have other things that demand our time, and most of them rank higher in importance than our blogs (unfortunately). I’m sorry I made you feel bad with my comments. More to the point, I should have said I missed you, but I understood. (I’m still waiting for Dr. D’s comment on your comment about packaging.)
Secondly, I want to THANK billy, for giving me something to write about in my blog! lol I have unabashedly stolen his idea and repeated it here. *G*
Maybe things will pick up here when gardening season ends. No….what am I thinking. We’ll be headlong into the holidays by then! Well…maybe in the new year I’ll find time to write.
Until then….be patient with me.

Blue Witch wrote at length last Friday about changes in the retirement rules in the UK (“More pensions” Friday, September 24). Once again, I have great empathy with her subject matter, especially since Dear Husband and I are much closer to that point in our lives.
I had so much to say to her about it, that I felt it would be more appropriate to write it here, and link to her comments.
For the past ten years or so, we have been receiving notices from the Social Security Administration telling how much we had paid into the system, and how much we would be likely to receive a month should we retire at 62, or perhaps 65. In the past couple of years they are now telling us what we would receive should we choose to wait to retire at 70!
The government never intended Social Security to be a complete retirement package. They have always talked up 401k retirement plans, and savings, and any prudent person has investments to augment those. Unfortunately, the stock market wiped out a lot of those investment gains, and those who were in for the long haul, are running out of time when it comes to rebuilding those funds.
At the same time, the Federal Government is realizing that the Baby Boomers are nearing retirement age, and they are beginning to worry that there won’t be enough money to pay their claims. Their response: encourage them to work longer!
So….these notices show you how much MORE you would earn if you worked until you were 70. They don’t tell you that you HAVE to work that long, but the graphics showing what you would earn at 62, 65 and 70 are pretty convincing.
There are several catches to this line of thinking. First, it’s one thing to assume that I might continue to do paper work until I am 70. As long as I get my sleep, and I can see my monitor (Thank you for LARGE FONTS!!!), I could keep working. However, Dear Husband is an officer in a construction company. He is NOT going to be able to deal with the extremes of heat that Northern Illinois throws at us much longer. He might choose to take a job that pays a lot less than his present job, in order to stay inside more. So, Catch #1 is the physical ability to continue at your job.
The statistics the SSA sends us assume that we will continue to earn as much, or more, from now until we retire. It doesn’t, perhaps can’t, take into consideration changes in employment (Catch #2). And, in our experience, those our age who change jobs, tend not to move up in salary. We have friends our age who would be happy for a run of the mill job, let alone one with a golden parachute.
And….Catch #3….I seriously doubt that by the time I retire there will be one red cent left in the treasury to pay my Social Security. My Federal government sees fit to GIVE half a billion a week to five countries who are at the top of the list as recipients of our foreign aid: Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Afghanistan and Columbia. I have NO idea how much more we pay to the rest of the world. It’s a shame we are being taxed to support a world that doesn’t like us, rather than providing health care for our own poor.
So, we’re pretty uncomfortable about the idea of retiring. It will come one day, but I suspect it won’t be soon, and it might be a lot later than we’d like.
Blue Witch….good luck revising your plans. I’d really like to know SOMEONE who retired by fifty!